Electric cord reeling mechanism



May 9, 195o c. F. DUERRJR ELECTRIC CORD REELING MECHANISM Filed Jan. 28, 1946 Patented May 9, 1950 UNITED STATES T oFFlcE 6 Claims.

This invention relates to mechanisms for winding up and paying out electric conductors.

It is an old art to provide a winding drum or reel and a spring to turn it in the direction to wind up an electric conductor thereon and yieldable to permit it to be turned in the other direction to unwind the conductor by pulling on the conductor, thereby providing an extensible conductor of variable length; the conductor at the reel end being connected to a source of current and at the other end to a lamp or other device to be energized.

In such prior mechanisms the reel or drum rotates; and sliding electric contacts must be provided at the reel to conduct the current into the conductor, with attendant cost for parts, insulation, increased wear and deterioration, and liability of break down and repairs.

It is an object of this invention to provide a mechanism of this class in which the drum or reel itself remains stationary whereby sliding contacts are eliminated, the conductor continuing uninterruptedly from the source to the energized device.

It is another object of this invention to provide for stopping the winding up of the conductor Without the necessity of mechanical latches, locks or the like.v

Another object is to provide, in a mechanism of this class, means to stop winding up of the conductor at any time comprising means to grip the conductor itself operable by suitable manipulation of the extended conductor.

Another object is to provide a mechanism of this class having a lamp for the device to be energized, and constructed suitably to be installed in the top of a motor car with the lamp in position to function as the dome light of the car; and with a conductor or electric cord connected to the lamp which may be unwound or extended by grasping the lamp and pulling upon the cord to convert the lamp into an extension-cord-lamp for use at any point of the car.

1 Other objects will be apparent to those skilled in the art to which the invention appertains.

The invention is fully disclosed in the following description taken in connection with the accompanying drawing, in which:

Fig. 1 is a sectional view of an embodiment of the invention;

Fig. 2 is a View approximately along the plane 2-2 of Fig. 1, with a rotary winding arm thereof rotated clockwise to a different position; and with some of the parts behind the section plane omitted;

Fig. 3 is a side elevational view of the Winding arm which is shown in'longitudinal section in Fig. l;

Fig. 4 is a view of the winding arm as shown in Fig. l but with a part thereof in a different operative position.

The embodiment of the complete invention comprises an electric cord connected or adapted to be connected at one end to a source of current, and connected or adapted to be connected at its other end to a device to be energized for example an electric lamp, and a mechanism by which the intermediate part of the cord may be wound upon or unwound from a reel, whereby the part of the cord connected to the device to be energized is rendered an extension-cord the length of which may be conveniently adjusted; the reel mechanism and its associated parts are mounted upon a frame, or enclosed within a housing, and the frame may be mounted or disposed in various environments whereby the lamp or device to be energized may be applied to various uses. For example the mechanism may be mounted in the wall of a room of a dwelling, farm building, etc., and the extensible cord led to a floor lamp, fan, inspection lamp, or the like.

The particular housing and arrangement of parts herein illustrated and to be described, has been designed to particularly adapt the housing or frame to be mounted in the overhead interior panel or roof of a motor car; and the device to be energized is an electric lamp; and when the extension cord has been fully retracted and wound upon the reel, the lamp may ordinarily function as a dome light within the car; and when the cord is extended or drawn out of the housing by unwinding it from the reel, the lamp on the end of the cord thus extended may be used to illuminate any part of the car, inside or outside for any purpose.

In the drawing therefore I have shown at i a main base formed from sheet metal and in the form of a shallow downwardly open pan, having a peripheral flange 2 thereon. Under the pan is a downwardly convex preferably conical cover plate 3 secured to the pan by rivets 4-4 projected through aligned perforations in the flange 2 and in the cover plate. The cover plate and pan therefore provide an enclosing housing for parts therewithin, and the housing may be identified in general by the reference character 5. The housing may be mounted to support it by screws or the like projected through a plurality of perforations 6 6 in the ange 2 and the underlying peripheral portions of the cover plate.

of this bore.

opposite ends abutting the flanges I I and I3 prior to heading the rivets 3 whereby -the ball bearing is trapped in the cup form depression-L- l A bolt l5 having a conical head Ieiscprovided,

and the shank H of the bolt is projected 'fid-l ly first through a perforatiofrs'IlSI-.i a s'heetrfietal I arm l@ to be described, and then through a Washer 23 upon whichthe inner raceway Zi'of' the ball bearing abutsfat one axial end, and a nut 2-2'is`V 'screwedfonto the uper endl of the. bolt whereby the holt l'I, Washer 23, inner` rac'eivay to be described and the bolt I'!aI-iidits conical f lllotateY freely v the ballb earring. el portion the circular piece? inwardly-away from' the pan bot- "inte a reraibl-y-lrusto-conical forni -fange prov inigv as `v 'ati 24 al' eel groove between. the 'ange`f23- ndtlre par-1f betteln constituting lal sta; tior'i'ary eel' 'which the.cordf.as. will *beV de.; scribedhis ftv'ourda rTheA said'arria' I S Whichfunctionsl-as-l a Winding 'arrn is'rnatleSofsheetrnetaliand generally 'ofehairnel form comprisingifa channel web25 in which the aforesaid perforation'. IB-.isz provided;v and comprises side' flanges. 26: and -At a point radially. outwardly from. the bal-l bearing; rotational axis. ofthe la-rinmhe.metalro'f` the arm is constri'ctinglyV bent to' provideia tubular bearing A Imetal Wheelcarrier or arm extension zgfha's Paf .cylindrical shank 38 thereon Vin the tubular .bea/ring 28 ofthe arm, andgis rotatabletherein 'as afbear-ing. for the 'carriera the carrier having a1 shoulder-.f3 I: by Whichf-inwardfrnovement of the vshank 33'. in the-,bearingis-stopped and limited, thershoulder 3-Ifrotatably abutting/on the outer end-oftheztubular bearing; l243.- Outwa-rdly beyond the head =29.of thev Wheel Vcarrier it is provided with v anY armi-3 3j Vupon which is rotatably mounted `a-grooved Wheel 33; the #arm-i321 at its o uterend need -frsf'may At as jee *beingvbent 'over a'sat 34 4infr/he form of a hook and overlapping thep'eriphery of they grooved wheel 33. e 'Y l The 'head 3l and shank Sllofthe carrier orarm extension 52-9- have an internalfbore 35 therein coaxially thereof and the arfmkSZ lies at one side 1A second eroovedwhe ,373 is .provided between the side-flanges 2 and26 of theA arm andgis meuntedupon a shaft y.'i'ifhavingrotational bear.-

the wheel '3351s generally tangential. t`o the. aX'is '43 1in the respective sidei'flanges 2'5 and V2.7' of "the- 4 is secured as by a rivet 43 to the web 25 of the arm I9.

A two Wire insulated electric cord 44 is led into the housing 5 through a perforation 45 in the pan bottom I and at the radially inner part of the Y reel groove 24 and is Wound aroundy and around in the reel groove, several convolutions being shown in section at 46, and from the reel, as at 41, it passes over the grooved Wheel .33 and in the groove thereof, being trapped' against displacement therefrom b'y the hook 34' on the end of the arm 32, and. at 48 passes along the laterally displaced arm 32 and through the bore 35, and 'thenlover thegrooved wheel 35 in the groove 38 Athereof-g the cord at this point being as shown in Fig. 1 closely adjacent as at 49 to the conical lreadY ['33 of/theY bolt I l. Beyond the Wheel 36, the cordidepends, preferably vertically, and is cnffcted to the terminals;V of a lamp socket 50. The socket 30 projects -upwardly into the housing through' a periatiolr the?. cover` plate 3, andlei'rternally oifthe cover. plate the lsocket 'ectoi'll attaohedfther'eto andiover-l'apping' the erforationi I; an'da l'amp'53 ds; inserted into the'soclet; 5i); and the: socket .hasy spring neers-affhclfdirrg: trie .reflector 52;` thereon. opals'ce tier-'light dlilfusing bowkvmayniffdei'- sired ritedforrthe renfector:52;inanyrsuit@ ablefilna if eri-closing: thealamp'f53.: between itand' the reflector:

Initlie operatienfofithe; device;- thehelical spring 4l exerts resilient torque on the armifief-inthe 'direction to rotar-eil?, for; example 1 in: the clockwise direc-tienes viewedfromebelowin f. 1;,and therefore', tendre tosvvind the cord" upon` thef reel.; and! this' fc'auses l tlret'eorditolbe .pulled in the --.di1-. rectionf of." the :arredati 33 and therefore holdsA4 the. lamp 53 and redactor.' 52: upwardly' against.V the cover.v 'plate'. 3 l" in .i the normaloposition yillustrated in 1l,.Whereinwaai'efferredto, the lamp `nor- Vrrrall'yi'ifunction'sf'asv--tltrefdome light 'ofl za vmotor 'oar. Y To: 'extend:the:fcordiy to user-'the lamp. as' :an ex.- tens'ion cordilam-p the userlwill. grasp the reflector 52 and pull downwardly on it whereupon the-por tionsiof thercordl withinltlieghousingand on. the groovedi Wheelssff and23-3- wi-llzbe putunder ten,-

andireactthe: reel tangential-ly and this will cause the arm I9 to be rotatedcounterclockwise: as: viewed. Vfromvbelow,Y and' cause the cords to: 'bei unive-andi fromfthestationary reel @groove 24; the fcordrfpassing,downwardly 'and out lofitlfiei housings; throughthe .perforation 5-I-, and

"stood, wind; upranclaput increased tension inthe spiral springfMi When thefdperatoivreleaseslfhisfpull-on thekcord thexspringtml -Wilturmthe armv I3 in they other 'directionefto Wind the -co'rdf'b'aok onthe'.-reel.

Provision vris: triade" 'thea-Structure. aboveldeffscribedto :pernitvthe cordftobe.Woundup on'. the reel as stated or` optionally to grip the cordso that'- it; 'Willi noti.- wind irri,Y whereby the: 'operator does not have to keep @tension :thefco'rd :te keep iteitended; alndthisaaction@ vf lrndw -be-descilibed.

So .flng thefioperator; hy @rillingen the cord taiihs'` tension tli'eidowrwmfd. thrust 0f the Icdidinf `the ooved :pulley: 33@ :will Yhold, the yshaft 31 thereof in the' lowerf ndfof the 'slots 33e-43?; fandfwl'ien lhe"releasesthetension onf'the oord but does not entirely removeit,'theftension in; the-'cordrwillrfeep-ft eff-wheel' P36' in that-posi- 'aerei intros@perdente-'trie wil-eerst; aire *'15 armV I9 will start and Wind uprthe rcortlfnf wheel, and the cord vrunning over the wheel 36 and rotating it will cause the shaft 3'! to ride upwardly in the slots 39 and 40, and the inclination of these slots is such that the wheel 36 thus rising on the arm I9 will close up the clearance space 49 between the cord and the conical head I 6 of the bolt, and wedge the cord between the wheel 35 and the conical head and grip it as shown in Fig. 4 and prevent further winding up of the cord, the conical head I6 acting as an abutv ment for this purpose. After the operator has finished with his uses of the lamp as an extension cord lamp, then by pulling upon the cord and putting tension therein the wheel 35 will be pulled back downwardly along the slot 39 and release the gripping action and then the arm will rotate and wind the cord up on the reel.

In order that the cord whether winding or unwinding from the reel will run freely in the groove of the grooved wheel 33, 'it is desirable that the 20 cord will be tangential to the groove of the wheel 33 no matter by what conguration the cord winds on the reel, and it is for this reason that the wheel carrier 29 is arranged to swivel or have castering movement on the arm 9 by means of the bearing shank 3! in the tubular bearing 28. And to further facilitate this action, the pulley carrier arm 32 may as shown in Fig. 2 extend at an angle to the axis of the tubular bearing 28.

Outwardly of the housing 5, the two conductor cord 44 is opened and one conductor 5'! reenters the housing through a perforation 58 and goes as at 59 to an off-and-on switch 60 mounted on the housing wall, and thence out of the housingr again and as 6| to one side of the vehicle battery 62, the other side of which is grounded as at E3; and the other wire 34 goes to ground as at 65.

By means of the switch til, the lamp 53 may be turned off and on, as will be understood.

The invention is not limited to the exact details of construction illustrated and described but is comprehensive of all changes and modifications which come within the scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. In an electric cord winding and unwinding mechanism, a frame; a reel stationarily supported on the frame; an arm extending generally radially of the reel and having a rotational bearing axis adjacent to and generally parallel to the central axis of the reel; an arm extension supported to oscillate on the arm on an oscillation axis extending longitudinally of the arm; a rst grooved wheel rotatably supported on the arm extension to rotate on an axis at an angle to the said oscillation axis, and with a portion of the groove disposed adjacent to and outwardly of the reel periphery; a second grooved wheel rotatably supported on the arm with its groove generally tangential to the arm rotational axis; a spiral spring anchored at one end to the frame and at the other end to the arm for exerting torque on the arm to rotate it.

2. In an electric cord winding and unwinding mechanism, a frame; a reel stationarily supported on the frame; an arm extending generally radially of the reel and having a rotational bearing axis adjacent to and generally parallel to the central axis of the reel; a cord guide on the arm adjacent to and radially outward of the reel periphery; a grooved wheel guide having rotational bearing on the arm, and the groove of the wheel guide disposed generally tangential to the arm rotational axis; a conical abutment above the groove of the wheel guide generally coaxial with the arm rotational axis and tapering toward the wheel groove and adjacent thereto; the bearing of the wheel guide comprising a shaft rotatable with the wheel guide and a trackway therefor, the trackway being at an angular inclination to the arm rotational axis and the shaft being rollable thereon to move the wheel guide groove toward the conical abutment; a spiral spring anchored at one end to the frame and at the other end to the arm for exerting torque on the arm to rotate it.

3. In an electric cord winding and unwinding mechanism, a frame; a reel stationarily supported on the frame :an arm extending generally radially of the reel and having a rotational bear- -ing axis adjacent to and generally parallel to the fcentral axis of the reel; an arm extensionsupported to oscillate on the arm on an oscillation Taxis extending longitudinally of the arm; a rst grooved wheel rotatably supported on the arm extension to rotate on an axis at an angle to the said oscillation axis, and with a portion of the groove disposed'adjacent to and outwardly of the f reel periphery; a second grooved wheel rotatably supported on the arm with its groove generally tangential to the arm rotational axis; a spiral spring anchored at one end to the frame and at the other end to the arm for exerting torque on the arm to rotate it; and an electric cord extending through the grooves of the wheels and guided thereby Iand wound on the reel.

4. In an electric cord winding and unwinding mechanism, a frame; a reel stationarily supported on the frame; an arm extending generally radially of the reel and having a rotational bearing axis adjacent to and generally parallel to the central axis of the reel; a first grooved wheel rotatably supported on the arm with a portion of the groove adjacent to and radially outward of the reel periphery; a second grooved wheel having rotational bearing on the arm, the bearing comprising a shaft rotatable with the Wheel and guide means for the shaft extending at an upward inclination away from the arm rotational axis, the groove of the second wheel disposed generally tangential to the arm rotational axis; a conical abutment above the groove of the second Wheel generally coaxial with the arm rotational axis and tapering toward the wheel groove and adjacent thereto; a spiral spring anchored at one end to the frame and at the other end to the arm for exerting torque on the arm to rotate it; and an electric cord extending through the grooves of the wheels and guided thereby and wound on the reel.

5. In an electric winding and unwinding mechanism, a supporting frame; a stationary reel; an arm generally radial of the reel and supported to rotate on an axis adjacent to and generally parallel to the central axis of the reel; cord guide means on the arm; an electric cord running into the mechanism and over the guide means and wound on the reel; a spring reacting on the arm to rotate it in one direction; the guide means disposed to guide the cord to wind up on the reel upon spring-effected rotation of the arm; and the arm being rotatable in the reverse direction upon retracting pull on the cord from outside the mechanism to unwind the cord from the reel, and to tension the spring; the guide means comprising a wheel with a circumferential cord guiding groove therein generally tangential to the arm rotational axis; a bearing for the wheel comprising a shaft rotatable with the wheel, an upwardly- 

